CSO

The new OMB director starts a blog while news organizations world-wide announce layoffs. What's going on? Is this the new normal?

As the world recession deepens, the traditional role played by reporters continues to change. News organizations around the world are in financial trouble, and there are far fewer reporters. Oftentimes, remaining staff are asked to stay home for weeks without pay. Meanwhile, the number of bloggers continue to grow, as content moves online.

Whether this is a good or bad development depends on your viewpoint. What is not in doubt - this trend is impacting government information flow, security and risk. Here's why.

In the opening address at the Black Hat Federal security conference in Arlington, VA, Paul E. Kurtz urged the nation to begin a new discussion on the proper role of government in regulating and defending cyberspace. Kurtz said a clear command and control structure was needed to protect our critical information infrastructure and recover from major Internet disruptions.

Public/Private partnerships reached a new level of cooperation over the past week, as unprecedented collaboration emerged to fight the Conficker Worm. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Microsoft has offered a $250,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction of those responsible.

According to the Washington Post, President Obama plans to expand the membership and increase the authority of the National Security Council (NSC). New NSC directorates will set strategy over a wide number of issues including cybersecurity.

The Washington Post and other news organizations are highlighting the results from a new study conducted by the Ponemon Institute. The results - an average cost of $202 for each record lost in a data breach.

New U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Napolitano issued a directive on cyber security on January 23. The directive instructs specific offices to gather information, review existing strategies and programs, and to provide oral and written reports back to her by mid-February.

As physical security for inauguration festivities go into full swing in Washington D.C. this week, there's plenty of behind-the-scene action related to the new stimulus package which offers new technology spending. While the focus is on broadband, health IT, and science research spending, cybersecurity wasn't forgotten.

Predictions - everyone seems to have them. We're still in early January, so I wanted to summarize the best of what I've seen as well as contribute my opinions to the many 2009 security lists floating around in cyberspace.

A recent Seattle Times article offers an interesting case-study for security professionals. The headline: "After 6 months, drivers ignoring cellphone ban." Can we learn anything from law enforcement's implementation of this new law? I think so.

The President of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) was recently featured by Governing Magazine as he made the case for our nation making significant investments in the "invisible infrastructure." Gopal Khanna, who is also the chief information officer for the state of Minnesota, makes a compelling case that includes security components.